Riven with symbols, secret messages and evocative imagery; this year’s Kardashians’ Christmas card is a radical departure from their classic glamorous ensemble shot.
Composed by Kanye West’s favourite photographic auteur, David LaChapelle, the complicated scene is a muddle of intriguing narratives that suggest there’s a wry commentary on the nature of the reality family’s fame at play; and perhaps even a message from secret society, The Illuminati.
The first Easter Egg, as committed fans refer to these hidden treasures, is that Kanye West and Lamar Odom have made the shoot… in a fashion.
Both mens’ faces are on magazine covers amidst the dozens strewn all over the floor.
Kanye, 36, is depicted on the 2006 LaChapelle shot cover of music bible Rolling Stone as a Jesus (or should that be Yeezus) character while Lamar, 33, smiles on the cover of gossip mag Us Weekly with his estranged wife Khloe under the headline ‘taking him back.’
Then we’ve got the setting to consider, and what a setting it is.
While previous Kristmas Kards were all about a nicely appointed hallway decorated in nothing more diverting than black or white, LaChapelle has transported the family out of their monochrome comfort zone into a technicolour, post apocalyptic casino/circus hybrid.
It’s safe to say the chaotic palette wouldn’t fit in with any colour scheme previously approved by Kris ‘even my lavatory paper must be black’ Jenner.
Not that the infamous matriarch seems too concerned, however, because the card sees her with arms raised aloft in the traditional victory pose while her recently estranged husband stands trapped in a glass tube nearby as images of his Olympian heydey flicker mockingly on television screens.
With her toned and youthful legs thrust centre stage, Kris, 58, looks regal in a Bladerunner style Art Deco crown as she surveys the scene.
But what’s less obvious and more interesting is that her hands touch the words ‘fame, money’ and ‘Kardashians’ which have been written out in graffiti on the top of the box office.
It doesn’t take a master of context to work out that there’s a heavy implication here that Kris has cynically marketed her family to obtain riches.
The fact she’s sitting in the box office even hints that she’s personally sold the spectacle of their lives; Kim’s face – arguably the money machine’s most prized commodity – appears hauntingly on the counter beneath her mother’s spike-heeled shoes.
Of course, the self-proclaimed momager may be happy with this interpretation of her ascent to fame; however it’s just as likely that she looked no more deeply into the artistic endeavour than to sanction her sublimely sexy outfit .
What Kris thinks of the Illuminati could probably provide fodder for a good half hour of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, as daughter Kim, 33, was certainly baffled when she was accused of being a member of the fabled 18th century sect.
Last month, Kim unwittingly posted a collage of herself with best friend Brittny Gastineau in the Illuminati symbol of triangle and all-seeing eye.
Her fiance West has been linked to the shadowy collective along with his best friend Jay-Z and even President Obama, although it’s always denied and there’s no proof such an organisation even exists.
After her collage sparked a frenzy of speculation, a suitably perplexed Kim Tweeted: ’What is the illuminate? A religion?…I’m a Christian. [Is this] A cult?…not into that sorry!’
However the triangle and eye symbol are depicted in the Christmas card which is conspicuously free of any Christian festive symbols.
Its presence – twice – has predictably whipped conspiracy theorists into a tizzy and is undoubtedly LaChappelle having fun with the concept of modern myth making.
Although it has to be said that the family are strangely, almost inexplicably – some might say – powerful.
A surprising inclusion – and one that suggests the family were very much led by LaChapelle – is a magazine cover featuring Kim’s ex-husband Kris Humphries with the headline, ‘Mistake or fake?’
It’s a saga that Kim, the family and Kanye would all like to forget so its inclusion is the ultimate post-modern signifier in this most Brechtian of scenes.
But some of the touches are less subtle, grafitti arrows point to Kim’s stunning cleavage and her face is repeated throughout the vignette as many as 60 times.
Three male mannequins could easily signify Kanye, Lamar and Scott suggesting that all the men are slightly redundant in the oestrogen powered dynasty.
It’s just possible that LaChapelle is attempting to transform the Kardashian women into feminist icons for the 21st century.
But a viewing of their Christmas special showing the family prepare for the card suggests that the photographer’s subtext is probably lost on his subjects. And if you don’t want to look too closely into it all, let’s just say they all look very nice indeed.
Composed by Kanye West’s favourite photographic auteur, David LaChapelle, the complicated scene is a muddle of intriguing narratives that suggest there’s a wry commentary on the nature of the reality family’s fame at play; and perhaps even a message from secret society, The Illuminati.
The first Easter Egg, as committed fans refer to these hidden treasures, is that Kanye West and Lamar Odom have made the shoot… in a fashion.
Both mens’ faces are on magazine covers amidst the dozens strewn all over the floor.
Kanye, 36, is depicted on the 2006 LaChapelle shot cover of music bible Rolling Stone as a Jesus (or should that be Yeezus) character while Lamar, 33, smiles on the cover of gossip mag Us Weekly with his estranged wife Khloe under the headline ‘taking him back.’
Then we’ve got the setting to consider, and what a setting it is.
While previous Kristmas Kards were all about a nicely appointed hallway decorated in nothing more diverting than black or white, LaChapelle has transported the family out of their monochrome comfort zone into a technicolour, post apocalyptic casino/circus hybrid.
It’s safe to say the chaotic palette wouldn’t fit in with any colour scheme previously approved by Kris ‘even my lavatory paper must be black’ Jenner.
Not that the infamous matriarch seems too concerned, however, because the card sees her with arms raised aloft in the traditional victory pose while her recently estranged husband stands trapped in a glass tube nearby as images of his Olympian heydey flicker mockingly on television screens.
With her toned and youthful legs thrust centre stage, Kris, 58, looks regal in a Bladerunner style Art Deco crown as she surveys the scene.
But what’s less obvious and more interesting is that her hands touch the words ‘fame, money’ and ‘Kardashians’ which have been written out in graffiti on the top of the box office.
It doesn’t take a master of context to work out that there’s a heavy implication here that Kris has cynically marketed her family to obtain riches.
The fact she’s sitting in the box office even hints that she’s personally sold the spectacle of their lives; Kim’s face – arguably the money machine’s most prized commodity – appears hauntingly on the counter beneath her mother’s spike-heeled shoes.
Of course, the self-proclaimed momager may be happy with this interpretation of her ascent to fame; however it’s just as likely that she looked no more deeply into the artistic endeavour than to sanction her sublimely sexy outfit .
What Kris thinks of the Illuminati could probably provide fodder for a good half hour of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, as daughter Kim, 33, was certainly baffled when she was accused of being a member of the fabled 18th century sect.
Last month, Kim unwittingly posted a collage of herself with best friend Brittny Gastineau in the Illuminati symbol of triangle and all-seeing eye.
Her fiance West has been linked to the shadowy collective along with his best friend Jay-Z and even President Obama, although it’s always denied and there’s no proof such an organisation even exists.
After her collage sparked a frenzy of speculation, a suitably perplexed Kim Tweeted: ’What is the illuminate? A religion?…I’m a Christian. [Is this] A cult?…not into that sorry!’
However the triangle and eye symbol are depicted in the Christmas card which is conspicuously free of any Christian festive symbols.
Its presence – twice – has predictably whipped conspiracy theorists into a tizzy and is undoubtedly LaChappelle having fun with the concept of modern myth making.
Although it has to be said that the family are strangely, almost inexplicably – some might say – powerful.
A surprising inclusion – and one that suggests the family were very much led by LaChapelle – is a magazine cover featuring Kim’s ex-husband Kris Humphries with the headline, ‘Mistake or fake?’
It’s a saga that Kim, the family and Kanye would all like to forget so its inclusion is the ultimate post-modern signifier in this most Brechtian of scenes.
But some of the touches are less subtle, grafitti arrows point to Kim’s stunning cleavage and her face is repeated throughout the vignette as many as 60 times.
Three male mannequins could easily signify Kanye, Lamar and Scott suggesting that all the men are slightly redundant in the oestrogen powered dynasty.
It’s just possible that LaChapelle is attempting to transform the Kardashian women into feminist icons for the 21st century.
But a viewing of their Christmas special showing the family prepare for the card suggests that the photographer’s subtext is probably lost on his subjects. And if you don’t want to look too closely into it all, let’s just say they all look very nice indeed.
